The Test Site
by Heart In The Shadows
Summary: Mere weeks before Mercer tears up Manhattan, an aggressive kid is sent away to another continent while his parents were arrested. He knows nothing about what they did or why, but now he must keep a low profile until instructed otherwise by the agent watching over him. After a hellish first day, he catches the attention of Rin Tsuchimi. Now, he has a choice to make... Reviews help.
1. Chapter 1

**HITS: Right, before you start bugging me about how crap this is, let me inform you of a few things. Have I watched the series? Sort of, but my friend watched all of it. He wanted me to write a story with it, but I needed something I knew a little about and I was too lazy to look it up. Don't get me wrong, it's a good show and, given a good weekend or day off, I might finish the other half of it. Don't like it? Then don't read it. Ah well, here I go. Let me know how it is. Who knows, I might really get into this story. **

**P.S. I know the name of the town and the academy.**

Jay Follen was a transfer student and was new to the country all together. It was a big day for him, first of the school year. He had to move here due to some problems back home. What was this town called again? Forget it. Oh, it started with a S. He would leave that for later. He didn't understand it all, but it sounded like his parents had something to do with something serious. The police showed up and moved him as far as they could from them. An officer named Tas said he would show up every week to check in, so it wasn't like he was going to be shut off from the world.

The house was well furnished, but it seemed no one lived in it forever. It just had a dead feeling to it. The vanilla colored walls seemed cold to even look at, as if they had never been touched. The stairs directly at the end of the hall from the front door led to an equally soulless second floor. The polished dark oak floor shined even in the dull morning light.

The kitchen looked more like an arsenal of anything sharp. It scared him to even walk in. The Kitchen had a good view of the eating area, dining room, whatever it was called here. The only amount of dusk that was removed was the amount that stuck to his fingers when he ran a hand across the surface. It was a nice dark color, darker than the floor. He figured it could seat eight people, three on each side with one on each end. There were enough chairs too.

The living room was nice. A dark brown couch sat in the middle of the room facing a large plasma screen, which also had dust on it. There was a desk against the far wall with a wireless phone charging in its base on it. It was made of a light colored wood with two drawers and a cabinet. Two windows had a view of his small backyard, but he could still lounge around out there. The room was a bit bare, but the couch he slept on was very nice.

He had a look upstairs as well. A bathroom that was so white that it nearly blinded him when he turned the light on and four bedrooms. He had been told that the other rooms were guestrooms, so he shouldn't need to use them. It was a harsh insult, but they were right. He wouldn't have any reason to use them since he just got here. He had to study the language so much he could recite half the textbook from memory. He could carry out full conversations and read basic signs. He wouldn't make friends anytime soon because he would just have to leave when this whole issue with his parents was resolved.

He still got had his phone and his friend Luka texted him regularly. Luka was his only friend back home and he was huge! Standing nearly seven feet tall, he had to duck in school to avoid hitting his head. He was crazy strong too. He once lifted a car off its two front wheels, a car! Lately, however, his girlfriend Ella had been taking up most of their free time. The thought of him complaining that Jay left him with her by himself brought a smile to his face as he walked down the road.

At that moment, his phone vibrated. Jay took the phone and looked at it, Luka. He could tell by the super model picture that Luka made for himself when Jay wasn't looking. Luka then stole Jay's phone and put it as his contact picture. Jay could never change it. Luka had done something so he could never change it even though he could change everything else. He opened Luka's message.

_You just had to leave me here! I wanted to go too, you know. When I'm on vacation, you better set up a place for me to sleep._

Jay smiled again, "Good morning to you too." He sent a reply.

_Fine, but leave Ella home. No pets allowed._

He didn't have anything against Ella, but she was constantly at his side like a dog. Well, a very beautiful dog. It was kinda funny actually. He noticed a rather active group. It looked like five girls and a guy. The guy was taller than all of them and three of the girls had ridiculously long hair while the other two kept theirs short. At the rate they were walking, he would pass them in a few seconds. He held his breath as he walked by. He didn't know why, he just did.

When he was past, he heard one of the girls speak, "I don't think I've seen him around before." The man spoke too, "He might be a freshman. Look, he's wearing our uniform."

By this time he was exiting earshot. Did he really stick out that much? He was five feet and eleven inches tall, weighed 130, and was fair built. His dark brown hair was a little long, but not long enough to cover his eyes. Maybe it was because of his scar.

When he was about six years old, about ten years ago, he was looking in the shed for a Frisbee he threw in there. He found the stupid thing… right under the power saw on the workbench. He hit one of the legs crawling out and the saw fell, its own cord holding the trigger down. It fell, bit into his shoulder and traveled down the back of his arm all the way to his wrist.

It was a miracle he didn't bleed out. The only reason he didn't was because Luka, who was even his friend back then, was returning a movie. Luka found him screaming in the garage, called an ambulance, then carried him halfway to the ambulance on the highway.

Now that he thought about it, Luka didn't change at all except in height and build since then. Not a thing changed. And he looked like a high school student then too. Maybe he failed so many times they kept him there. Maybe he never went until last year since they were both freshmen, but that didn't explain his age. Maybe, he was an adult that just didn't want to leave yet. That was a mystery for another day. The school building was coming up. He had heard about the Gods, Demons, and gifted humans living together here, but it was like none of the other races lived in any other country, Luka didn't know a thing about it when he asked, like he never saw one before. It was like they kept mostly to themselves.

A few students blocked the entrance to the school building. Jay walked up with a fake smile, "Hey, could I get in?" The one dead center glared at him, "Until we deal with Rin Tsuchimi, no one comes in or out."

Jay's shoulders dropped, "Are you kidding me?! Get the hell out of my way!" The crowd tried to stop him, but he jumped over them. He messed up the landing and slid into of the shelves of shoe lockers. His back ached horribly. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he was good at acrobatics for some reason. Jay got up and dusted himself off.

"Did you see that speed? It's Tsuchimi in disguise!"

What the hell? " What? No, I'm the new guy." Jay only had time to take off running down one of the halls. He went up five flights of stairs and barged into a classroom, "Excuse me!" He slid the window open and climbed out. The fall would most likely kill him if he screwed up here, but he had done this before. He grabbed the window ledge and hung there. All he has to do is hold on and they won't find him. About one minute should do it.

After a minute, he heard screaming. It was coming from the floor below him. The window under him opened, "Drop down, we'll catch you." Jay tried to look at the guy, "What? No. Shut up, or they'll find me."

"This isn't a game! You could get hurt or even die."

"If they find me I'll die!"

Jay heard what sounded like a herd of buffalo and the window flew open as the guy from the front gate stared down at him, "Got you, Tsuchimi!"

Jay bared his teeth, "I'm not Tsuchimi, moron! I just transferred here! Why do you want him so bad anyway? You have a crush on him or something?" The guy was fuming and made a wild grab for him.

Jay felt the faint touch of fingertips on his shoes. He dropped as soon as they had a grip. They barely caught him. Jay's heart stopped a while ago when hanging on the ledge, so this didn't do much. It took two people to pull him in. A teacher walked up to him, "What were you thinking?!"

Jay calmed down and stood on his shaking legs, "I was thinking some Tsuchimi fan club was about to kill me on my first day. You should really keep them in check."

The guy on Jay's left tensed up, "It wasn't a group of guys looking like they would destroy someone, was it?"

"As a matter of fact, it was." The guy bowed slightly, "Sorry about them, I knew something was off today."

Jay wasn't a moron, "You're said Tsuchimi, I'm guessing?"

The black haired man straightened up, "Yes, I'm Rin Tsuchimi. Wait, I saw you this morning on the way here. Uh, what was your name?"

Jay had to lean on a wall to keep from falling over, "Jay Follen. I just transferred. I have to say, the welcome wagon sucks."

Rin had black hair and had a 'Did I miss something' look on his face as well as brown eyes.

"How on earth did they mistake me for you? Our eyes aren't even the same!"

The teacher looked at a sheet of paper and then back at Jay, "Yeah, Jay Follen, right here. An interesting way to get here, but you made it. Welcome to homeroom."

Jay came to a conclusion then and there. _I'm gonna die a slow and very painful death before this is over._

It was lunch when Rin found him, "Jay."

Jay had his head down, trying to sleep, "Yeah? What's up?"

"We were wondering if you wanted to eat up on the roof with us. Do you want to?"

Jay thought about that, longer than he should have. It was a good chance to see the view of the city, maybe even sleep in the sun. "I'm not going to get run down by your fans again, am I?"

Rin smiled at him, "I hope not." That smile… it seemed fake.

"If this is a set up, I will have your head."

Jay followed Rin to the roof where the girls he saw this morning were all sitting, "I found him." Jay looked at Rin accusingly. He was expected? This had trap all over it. He should know, he went to quite a few schools like that. He was forced to sit down.

Jay stayed on guard, as Luka had taught him, until the girl with the two long pigtails started staring at him. Her blue eyes seemed sharp, but indifferent. He looked away.

The girl with short hair and a red ribbon waved a hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Sorry, I was miles away." When she spoke, her voice was high pitched and sweet. It was a nice sound and very convincing, "I was asking where your lunch is."

"I already ate it." He hadn't even packed a lunch or bought anything. He usually didn't eat until early in the morning or really late at night, never in the middle of the day. The girl smiled at him, " I'm Kaede Fuyou. Thank you for helping Rin." Jay looked away, "Don't thank me until I do something on purpose."

Rin started introducing everyone, "This is Asa, Sia, Nerine, and Primula."

Jay looked at all the smiles, "First names, huh? I'm Jay."

His phone vibrated. It was Luka.

_Do anything stupid yet?_

Jay smiled and almost laughed.

_Dude, you have no idea._

Nerine, the one sitting closest to him on his right, started to say something, "Can I ask where you got that scar?" Jay turned his arm, "This one?" She nodded.

Jay forced his sleeves down a little further, but there was no hiding that thing. "Something stupid that nearly got me killed, kinda like today."

There was little conversation and Jay ended up sleeping by the edge of the roof. His classes were simple enough, so it shouldn't be much of a problem to get decent grades. On the walk home, he picked up some noodles for dinner over the week to come. He walked into his new home and noticed shoes by the front door, Tas.

"Hate to show up so sudden, but we've heard tell of a virus spreading around here. I brought a vaccination for you." Jay confirmed the doctor's letter was from his family doctor all the way back in the U.S. Jay stayed still as Tas shoved it into his right arm. Jay also saw Tas's own shot wound in his arm.

The liquid was cold, freezing even. He could feel it moving through his veins, creeping like a predator, until it ran full circle through his blood. Before long it faded. Tas stayed around for Jay to tell him about his first day, but with a single phone call, he had to leave.

Jay didn't even have time to ask about his parents. He felt too out of place in this country. He didn't like it. Maybe that would change soon.

The next day was a day off, so Jay stayed in the house. He spent the morning fixing up the house. Something outside the window caught his eye. A group of people, better known as Rin's group. What were they doing here? Oh well, nothing to do with him.

He went and took a shower after the housework. The whole place seemed much livelier and the arsenal of knives was hidden in a safe place far away from the kitchen. He couldn't think of anything better than a shower in the middle of the day. It was so relaxing. He went down stairs afterwards and sat on the cool sofa. The chilled leather touching his back made him jump a bit. He saw Rin's group walk past his house several times, like they were looking for something. Odd, but not his problem.

At some point during the day, he went into town to get a rosebush for his back yard. He got the rose, but it looked like rain and soon. He went full sprint towards his house. When it started to rain, it rained hard. Jay placed the plant near the backdoor as a reminder, but this rain would make it hell. He thought about what to do when a thought popped into his head. Not many people will be out in this storm, so he might as well eat out at a shop or something. There wouldn't be any lines or waits.

With a glorious idea, he marched out into the storm with his umbrella and a hoodie in case he lost the umbrella.

A few hours later and the rain was still coming down hard. Jay was getting ready to leave the cafe when he saw two familiar hair colors a bit down the road standing under an awning. A single thought was the only resistance.

_I'm gonna regret this_.

It turned out to be Kaede and Primula, as he thought. They were looking the other way when he walked up, "Forget something?" Kaede took a bit of time to recognize his face without the dismal frown plastered to it, "Jay. Yeah, we didn't think it would rain this fast."

Jay laughed a little. She looked at him like he was weird. He came to a compromise and threw his hood up. Jay extended the umbrella to them, but Kaede shook her head, "No, that's okay. I think it's letting up." At that very moment, thunder sounded.

Jay sighed, "Take it, I'll get it back tomorrow. I don't need it anyway."

When he got home, he noticed a box sitting in the middle of the hall with a folded piece of paper on it. He grabbed the paper. It was a note from Luka.

_Some dude in a black suit asked me to help pack things you left in your house. I put Little Devil in a small box, probably the one this note was on. Its rednu eht mottob. Also, I put your laptop, mp3 player, and speakers in here. I know, I'm awesome. You can thank me in a month._

Knowing Luka, he did that messed up part on purpose. Jay had to think a bit before it came to him. It was backwards. He wrote each word the other way and wound up with "under the bottom."He opened the box, pulled out the normal items, and saw the tiniest gap between the bottom of the box and the actual sides of the box, sneaky. He removed the fake bottom and looked at the shiny black rectangle. He put in the combination their family had used since Luka's great grand father, 319. The lid sprung open, revealing a nine-millimeter pistol with _Little Devil_ carved into the side. The silver metal was shined recently, three loaded clips sat neatly in the box, and a pipe cleaner for the barrel. Luka always thought that was enough to keep it clean. It would take a bit more than that.

Why would he send this to Jay? Jay didn't care at the time, he felt so much safer with it. He carried to box to his room and collapsed on the bed.

Jay woke up at the sound of the front door opening. He gripped _Little Devil_ under his pillow. This was supposed to be a peaceful town! Who the hell broke into his house? Worse yet, he heard the intruder making a beeline for his room. The door flung open and formal shoes clicked off the wood floor. A hand shook him harshly. Jay flipped over fast, flinging the pillow into the intruder's face. The intruder backed up, giving Jay enough time to tackle them to the floor.

He drove the barrel of his gun into the intruder's forehead, "Damn it Jay! Get off me." That voice… "Tas? What are you doing here at," he looked at the clock on his nightstand, "two in the morning?" Tas got to his feet, Uzi in hand, "We need your help."

They were driving to a rundown area of the city in Tas's car, "He's what?" Tas kept his bright gray eyes on the road, "He escaped from a holding cell of ours. He killed seven fully armed guards with his fists, then he got dangerous."

Jay glared at Tas, "Then why are you dragging me here?! If he butchered you guys like meat, why bring me here? I don't even have half the crap you do. I don't even know who you work for. CIA? Military?"

Tas wasn't showing any emotion but pure hate, "I suppose I could tell you. You'll be helping us after all. I work for a branch of an organization called Blackwatch. We specialize in containing and destroying biological threats. The man in question was said biological threat. It may come to a citywide quarantine if we can't kill him. He is a monster in every definition. I saw him grow claws and cut men into seven pieces."

Jay was furious, "All the more reason I shouldn't be here! I can't take on something like that! Why are we still driving?"

Tas smiled and the space between his middle and index fingers shined white in the streetlights, "Because to kill a monster, we need a monster."

Tas lashed out and drove a needle right into Jay's neck. No sooner did he pull the needle out that Jay lost consciousness.

* * *

HITS: All I have to say is don't like it, don't read it. Kind criticism it accepted, by that I mean give your opinion, but don't go on an hour-long rant about how I missed a tiny detail. Just tell me about it and watch me fix it. However, if you came to bash the entire thing, then shoo. Go on then, off with you! Man, I'm aggressive today.


	2. Chapter 2

Jay's vision was blurred when he woke up. He was barely able to sit up. It hurt to move, breath, and think. "There you go, up you get." Someone was in the room with him.

Jay reached under his pillow and found Little Devil. As his vision came into focus, he aimed at the shadowy figure. "Hey, that's not very nice." The figure walked to his bed. Jay tried to fire, but his finger wouldn't move. The figure slapped the gun from his hand and pressed him back down against the bed with a single hand.

Finally, his vision cleared. Tas was smiling brightly at him, "Congrats, you're hired. Your tags are on the table. Don't worry about school today, I've already called ahead for you."

Tas left before Jay could so much as speak.

Hours later, Jay was able to do basic abilities. Walking, lifting objects less than twenty pounds, seeing clearly, and the like. The tags on the table were interesting. They looked military, silver colored metal on a chain. The letters were painted black and a strange insignia was pressed into the metal next to his name. Under that was the word Bioweapon. He didn't like it. Out of a mix of anger and fear, he threw them at the wall, neither were damaged. He left them where they lay.

After calming down only slightly, he walked into the living room and sat down

A storm moved in around two in the afternoon. Heavy wind pounded on the side of the house and rain stabbed at the windows. Storms like this make Jay want to just stand out in it like he did at home. A few hours later, a loud knock at the door caught his attention.

"Rin? What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?"

Rin Tsuchimi was standing under an umbrella with a large bag slung over his shoulder. Not just him, but the rest of his group. Rin's calm smile met Jay's cold glare. Jay gave in and moved to the side, inviting them in.

"A man in a suit came to school and asked if someone could deliver your work to you. He told us where you lived and Kaede lived closest."

"So why the hell did you bring everyone? I understand not sending her alone, but I think this is a little much."

The one called Sia spoke up, "You're the talk of the academy. A foreigner with a dark stare, bright green eyes, and a scar running the length of his arm." Jay stepped in.

"That's enough. I don't want attention. I want to get this over with. Thank you for bringing my work."

Rin leaned forward, but the little girl, Primula, pulled him back. She glared at Jay. She actually glared at him with those deep blue, neutral eyes. Judging from her ears, she was one of the two other races, meaning she could probably sense something wrong.

"What's wrong Primula?" Jay's eyes darted back and forth between Rin and Primula, hidden by his dark hair. She looked at him right in his eyes, "He's sick."

Jay controlled his breathing, but he thanked her in his mind He could tell something was wrong with him, but he just couldn't place it, "She's right. Nothing too serious, but enough that you should stay away from me. I'll be fine by tomorrow if I rest."

Rin and the other's jumped up, "I've got it! Let's make dinner for you. You can't get well without food and you're in no shape to cook."

Jay bit his tongue before he said something offensive about that and smiled, "Thank you very much, but it is unnecessary."

It was no use, they all funneled out of the room as Rin and Primula took him to his room. Rin left, but the girl stared at him from the doorway, "Do you know what it is? What's wrong with me?"

She shook her head.

He sighed, "I don't know either, but it can't be good. If you can, keep everyone away from me and get them out of my house, at least until it goes away. I'll owe you one."

She nodded and walked down the stairs. Jay lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't notice until now, but he could feel something. It was cold and painful, like jagged ice. Worse yet, it was flowing in his veins. It was moving around in his chest, flowing like a poison. It felt a lot like that vaccine Tas gave him.

Jay couldn't take it anymore, he flung himself out of bed. Not a second later, it was gone. It had felt exactly like that injection he got from Tas, so he tried to find his phone. It wasn't in his pocket or his charger. He checked the desk in the corner near the window. Ah, there it is. He called Tas, since his number was in there anyway.

"Jay? What's wrong?"

"I just laid down in my bed and it felt like I had pointed rocks in my veins. Care to-"

"Ah, that's a side effect. The vaccine I gave you had a few, but they pass pretty quickly. Moving around helps it pass quicker. If you just had the icy veins, the next is the numb arms in a few minutes. I just got over that an hour ago."

"You'd think they would iron out all the kinks first."

"They did, it used to make your organs explode or liquefy your brain."

"Holy shit."

"More like demonic, but whatever. Anyway, you have good timing. Would you prefer a dark blue or a dark purple?"

"Wait, What?"

"Answer or you get pink."

"Blue! Why?"

"You'll see, I'll be over in a bit. Oh, you may want to take a very hot shower to fix your arms."

Tas hung up. Jay placed a hand on his chest to see if his heart was still beating. It was going faster than a hamster on steroids. How does someone calmly said 'your will lose feeling in your arms in three, two, one'? He could feel the ice coming back already. He put his phone on the charger and walked out of the room.

"Oh, just in time. Dinner's ready."

Oh come on! Rin was there, blocking his way to the shower. How could he take a shower if he had company?

"Listen, Rin, I really appreciate what you're doing, but I gotta take a shower as soon as possible. If it isn't too much trouble, you can take the meal and go home for today. You can all come back some other time, okay?"

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Trust me, it could be way worse."

"Well… okay, but I hope you feel better tomorrow."

Jay thought about what happened last night when Tas showed up, "If I don't get any more visits, I should be okay."

They left just as Jay lost feeling in his left arm. It was a creeping feeling, starting in the fingertips. It crawled up the arm like a fire, burning where it touched before all feeling vanished. Jay was just able to start the shower before he lost the use of his right arm.

This wasn't anything close to numb! He lost the use of his arms completely. They just hung there, unable to move. He couldn't even make his finger twitch.

He did have to give it to Tas, the shower really helped. After seven minutes, feeling started to burn its way down. Just as it had hurt to lose feeling, it hurt to get it back. Soon enough, he had full control.

He walked downstairs in a pair of pants perfect for sleeping in. He already told everyone to go home, so he could walk around shirtless.

"That's pretty bold, don't you think?"

Jay sighed as he turned to see Tas on the couch. Jay jumped over the back and landed on the opposite end, "It's my house, I'm allowed to be. Anything good on?"

Tas flicked through a few channels, labeling them as he went, "Shit, Shit, News channel?"

"Is it as negative as the news in the U.S?"

"Not quite."

"Let's keep going."

"Shit, Anime I don't know of, and another, and another, back to shit, a game show I can't understand, and an horror movie."

"So nothing good?"

"Nope."

Tas turned off the TV. Jay and Tas sat in silence for half a minute. Jay then put two and two together, "What the hell just happened?" Tas seemed confused too, "I think… Did we just hang out?"

"I think so."

It was quiet yet again before Tas pointed to the hall, "Want to go to a café down the road?"

"Uh… sure, I guess."

"Drive or walk?"

"Walk."

Tas and Jay walked out and continued down the road. Tas's black duster and matching shirt and pants made him look like a cross between an official and a thug. They went to the café Jay went to the other day. That reminded him about the umbrella that he gave Kaede. They recognized Tas instantly, "Ah, Mr. Rose. Your usual table is ready."

"Thank you, my dear."

Jay and Tas sat at a table against the window of the front of the shop, giving them a good view of the street. As soon as the waitress left, Jay erupted into laughter, "Rose?! That's your last name? Jeez man, no wonder you use first names only."

Tas was smiling, "Yeah, shut up. You know, you seemed to warm up to me pretty quickly."

"When a guy can walk into your house whenever he pleases and has a few strings here and there, you waste time if you hate him. Besides, what good would it do? I'm still angry about last night though."

"Ah, so true. Luckily for you, our security measures have tripled because of the break out last night. We won't need your help for a long time."

"Good, I don't even know what I did. Oh yeah, that whole Bioweapon thing on those damn tags you left me?"

"Oh that, It was either that or list you as a soldier, meaning you would never relax again. It doesn't mean anything, but it does give you some authority in Blackwatch and with the local law enforcement. Just don't abuse it."

"I don't think I'll ever need it."

Tas set the menu down, "Let's get serious for a second. First, the big question. Yes, your parents are fine. They're being treated well and cooperating with us. Second, You and I are in deep shit."

"What?!"

"Calm down. Do you trust me?"

"No, but I have no choice. What do you want?"

"Just your trust and for you to wear your tags. Under your clothes, in plain view, I don't care."

"So you're doing this because you want me to be part of your organization?"

"No, but a high ranking official is on his way right now. The breakout has called the wrath, you could say. We have a device that can pick out people who wear our tags, so we avoid problems with ourselves. If you wear those tags, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. I'm going to try and make all of this go away and get you to your family. I don't know what the higher ups have in mind, but from what isn't covered in black ink, it can't be good. If you screw up, they'll kill you, your family, and anyone who knows you. If I screw up, the whole city could get nuked. Literally."

"I… uh… what… I can't think right now."

"Then let me continue. I can handle the political bullshit and the paperwork, but I need a view on the public. Blackwatch has done some messed up things in the past."

"Like the claw dude you told me about?"

Tas smiled, "You're very quick. Yes, like that. I may have a moral standing, but almost all of Blackwatch are heartless demons who would sleep peacefully on a bed of innocent corpses. I'm sorry to say this, but if this doesn't work itself out you and me will be spending a lot of time together. Do you understand everything?"

"I… I think so. A ruthless force of baby killers is going to be watching everyone closely, so you want me to tell you if I see anything weird. If I wear these tags, I can observe them and not be at risk. If either of us slip up, this city and everyone in it is screwed"

"Yes. You won't have to do it right away, about two weeks or a month until the official can set up shop. So relax and make some friends. Maybe even find a girl. You'd be amazed what you could do when fighting for someone you love. When the time comes, though, you will have a choice to make."

"Like what?"

"This mess will continue on for a while after the ordeal with your parents is solved. You don't have to choose right now, but the time will come eventually. Will you go home and live your normal life, or will you stay a while longer to help me save this place? I can't offer much right now, but I will pay my dues in the end."

"I said I'm no fighter last night and you knocked me out! What's to stop you from doing that again?"

Tas sighed loudly, "Last night… I turned you into a savage with that drug. It increased your strength, your endurance, and your healing rate. Whether you agreed to help last night or not, we wouldn't have killed the target without you being like that. He turned himself in after a fight with you, where we killed him."

"I don't understand. I can just barely grasp that I have to help you with something like this, but I cannot fight and will not."

"I know, as I said, we won't need to do that again. You did, however, put up a good fight. That's why you were so sore this morning."

"My head is… hurting now. Can we not talk about this right now?"

Tas sighed as the waitress put two desserts on the table, "Yes, now that that's all said and done, we can eat."

Not two bites into the dessert, Jay had regained his composure and sanity. How could he accept what he was just told? The thought of such a thing scared him every single time he thought about it. He didn't want to be apart of it, but now that he knew about it, he couldn't just leave it be. Tas said he needed his help to prevent the deaths of everyone out on that street and in the entire city. Then again, what could he do? It might be better for him to head back home once he can. It seems that whatever happens will only happen here, to back home should be safe.

_This must be what it's like to look at hell before you dive right in_, he thought.

The weight of the world wasn't on him, but a city like this was pretty heavy for just two guys.

Tas perked up, "Oh, that reminds me, I got you a new phone."

He slid the dark sapphire colored smart phone across the table to him. It had to have been what that weird color question was about they had earlier.

"I already transferred everything in your old phone to the SIM this morning, just had to get the actual phone."

Jay stared at it for a second, letting it soak in, then smiled like a deviant, "So, how were your side effects today?"

Tas reeled back, "Dear god, they were horrible! The icy veins came in when I was in a restaurant down the road and people thought I was having a heart attack."

Jay was laughing, which was a massive relief to the tension.

"You think that's funny? Well, prepare to laugh until you pass out. The whole can't-use-my-arms thing came around while I was on the toilet."

Jay nearly choked on his dessert. And laughed so hard his ribs hurt.

"No seriously, have you ever had to do that without having to use your arms? It was, in every sense of the word, Hell!"

The two of them enjoyed the rest of their evening before they parted ways for the night. Tas… may not be as bad as Jay thought.

**What will happen now? Tas and Jay have warmed up to each other even though Tas dropped one hell of a bomb. But is it all there?**

**HITS: Well, I hope this lives up to expectations. Especially yours, sir/ma'am who wrote the first review. I did read it and that's why I wrote this one up quickly. Sorry it was a bit bland, but this is where it really picks up. Oh and I finished watching the rest of the series this morning. Pretty good, in my opinion.**


	3. Chapter 3

**HITS:** **This is the beginning of the end…**

"Hey Jay, can you help me with these?"

Jay lifted his head from the desk to see a woman he didn't know. She had short pointed ears, so she was a god. Her blonde hair ended just above her waist. Her emerald colored eyes shined in the sun. It almost hurt his eyes to look at her beauty, she had six boxes sitting nearby.

"Do I know you?"

She leaned on his desk, causing a few people on the other side of the room to glare. He glared back and they looked away.

"Not really, but I saw you a few times at the café where I work. My name's Kareha."

He shot straight up in his seat, "You work there?!"

"Yeah, you seem to like it there."

Jay got out of his seat and hefted four boxes into his arms, "You are now the best person in this country. Where do these go?"

"My, my. Right to the teacher's lounge."

"Did you say something else just now?"

"Not at all."

Jay shrugged and followed her to the teacher's lounge. However, not even halfway there, she showed up.

"Hey Kareha, who's that you got with you?"

Jay couldn't see who it was due to the boxes stacked in front of him.

"Hey Asa. It's Jay, the new transfer student. Where's Rin?"

"I think he went to the roof already with the others. I'm heading up now. You two should come up too."

Jay let them talk, he could see the lounge from here. He took the boxes inside, gave them to his homeroom teacher, Nadeshiko Benibara, and took Kareha's boxes from her without either of them noticing.

His phone vibrated, It was a text from Tas.

_Get down here now._

It must have been important.

* * *

Jay walked into the lobby, where Tas was waiting, "What's wrong?"

Tas started leading him out of the building, flashing a badge to anyone in the way to get Jay past them and out of the school building, "You're classmate, Rin Tsuchimi, was taken this morning by a group of fanatics. I think you've had a run in with them already."

"That concerns me how?"

Tas laughed, "Ouch, and here I thought you cared somewhat."

"Nope."

"Luckily it's your job to help me when I ask. As far as we know, they've never done something like this. I want you to help me scare them so bad they don't even think about it."

Tas got in his car and Jay walked to the driver's side window, "And what if I say no?"

Tas smiled and lifted a silver nine-millimeter pistol, "Then what will I do with this?"

Jay ran to the passenger side and got in, "You have my attention."

They arrived at a well-kept warehouse. It was easy to find it, all they had to do was follow the shouting. They pulled up to the gate and parked. Tas walked to the trunk and retrieved a pump-action shotgun. Jay glared at him."

"What?"

"I want one."

Tas smiled and tossed Jay spare three clips. "These are still high school students, so try to restrain yourself. If they come at you, aim for the legs. We can testify self defense if they live. Oh, getting the kid out alive is optional."

They kicked the gate's rusted lock clean off and Tas walked into the crowd, firing his shotgun into the air, "Alright, let him go or die." Most of the crowd was scared at the noise, but some ringleader standing at the far end under a spotlight laughed, "You can't do that. Even if you could, you couldn't take out all of us!"

Someone bumped into him. Jay aimed for the leader's groin, "Maybe not, so I'll just kill you."

The ringleader squinted at Jay, "Wait a sec, you're the guy we chased the other day. So you really weren't Tsuchimi."

Jay fired, barely missing his leg on purpose, "Nope, now let the real one go."

"You can't be serious. He runs every time he sees us, we finally got him. All we have to do is hold him here until the girls forget him. When they need a shoulder to cry on, we will be there!"

Jay and Tas spoke at the same time, "Are you serious?!"

The crowd jumped at their sudden response. Tas slung the shotgun over his back and pulled out a black pistol, "Fuck it. Jay, shoot 'em."

Jay hesitated, but Tas fired three times, causing three men to fall to the ground screaming, each with a large hole in their leg. Jay took that as his cue and shot the ringleader twice in the legs. The crowd dispersed so fast it was like a herd of buffalo. Jay shot a few stray rounds to keep them running, but Tas was already out of ammo and beating people with the butt of his pistol.

Rin was tied to a metal chair with rusted chains, like he was being interrogated. Jay walked into the light. The light made everything outside it seem like an endless shadow.

"Jay, is that you? Oh, you have no idea how glad I am to see you."

"I have some idea. Hold still."

Jay pressed Rin's head forward, keeping him from moving, and shot the rusted chains clean off, "You owe me a bullet."

Tas finished dragging the seventeen victims of his rampage into a corner, "Can we go now? I think you can make it for the rest of lunch."

* * *

Tas, Jay, and Rin pulled up in from of the school with sandwiches bought from town. Rin ran inside, but Tas stopped Jay, "You may want this."

A black wallet landed in Jay's hands. It was a badge with his picture and everything.

"Why would I-"

"Hurry up, go with Rin so his girlfriend doesn't yell at him."

Jay looked at Rin as he ran in, "He actually chose one of them?"

Jay walked onto the roof only to hear a loud crack like that of a whip. Rin was on the ground with a hand imprinted right between his shoulder blades. Jay cleared his throat, "Right then, why is he dying on the floor?"

Asa, the green haired one, looked furious, "I was looking everywhere for him. It was like he up and vanished."

Jay crossed his arms, "Actually, he was kidnapped by the fanatics. They thought that if they hid him long enough, you'd all forget him and chose someone else like them."

Rin lifted his head up from the floor, "It's true, Asa. Please believe me."

Nerine spoke up, "Um… Jay?"

"What?"

"You have blood on you."

Jay looked down. On his right hip, a dark red spot stained his white uniform. Some blood must have splashed on him when Tas went on his rampage. Jay rolled the area and rung it out as best he could. There was a lot more than a simple splash. He grabbed further back to squeeze the rest out, but a gasp caught his attention. He looked at Nerine, "What?"

Her eyes were fixed on a certain point. He couldn't see much in the reflection of her dark red eyes, but it looked like a red gash with a streak of silver in her eyes. He looked at his hip and found a knife buried to the hilt in his side, the tip poking out the other side. It didn't hit anything important, but it went clean through a good two inches of flesh and he didn't even notice.

"What the?!"

Jay gripped the hilt and pulled, but it wouldn't come out.

"Damn it. Rin, come pull this out."

"Wha- why me?"

"Because I got this saving you!"

Asa had a look of grief, "So it was true?"

Rin gripped the handle and Jay looped his arms under the railings. Rin pulled as hard as he could, even putting a foot on the railing for leverage. It finally came out with a spurt of blood. Bits of white flew out as well and Jay felt something, like he slept on his side in a weird way. The girls each looked at a white grain with fear.

Nerine had a larger bit land next to her, "I- Is th- Is that bone?"

Jay walked over with no difficulty and knelt down, "Yeah, I think that's part of my hip. Oh, thanks for the help Rin."

Nerine looked to Kaede, "Go get Kareha!"

Jay straightened up, "What? Why?"

"She can do healing magic."

"I don't even fe- Oh hang on, my phone's ringing. Yeah?"

It was Tas, "Hey Jay, listen to this. One of the pricks I shot said he stuck a knife in you."

"Yep, I found it. The strange thing was that I didn't feel it."

"You too? Oh, that's a relief."

"Why? Tas, what happened to you?"

"Oh, I got run over yesterday. Ended up with over thirteen broken bones, but I didn't feel a thing. Only one problem, don't let anyone use healing magic on you, or you'll feel the full force of it."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. You got run over yesterday?"

"Can't talk, need to interrogate our catch again. See you at home."

Jay turned slowly to Rin, "Hey Rin, remember that guy that was with me?"

"The officer with the shotgun?"

"Yeah, apparently he's a freak of nature."

The door flung open and Kaede came back with Kareha. Jay put the phone back into his pocket. Kareha ran up to him, "Are you okay? Kaede said you were hurt."

She made a reach for his shirt, but Jay caught her wrist, "Uh, no, nope, not hurt. No need for healing magic."

Kareha looked confused. Jay had to help her, "Look, it was just a cut, it bled a bit, it stopped, and I'm fine."

Nerine stood up with fury on her face; "It is NOT just a cut. Look around you. There are bits of your hipbone lying around!"

Jay was the most confused of them, "Did I miss something or is she generally concerned?"

Rin looked at him like he were a little child, "Is being concerned for others really that strange?"

Jay instantly responded, "Yes, very much so."

"Why? Was it because of where you were raised?"

"What? No! I was treated different for no reason other than I didn't care what people thought of me."

"Did you have a bad childhood or something?"

"Not rea-"

"How were your parents?"

"Sto-"

"Did people bully you?"

Jay snapped, "That is enough of that!"

Jay left before things got worse. He took out his phone and made a note to himself.

_Never save people._

At home, Jay collapsed on the bed as questions of his own raced through his mind._ Little Devil_ was sitting on his bed. Why didn't he feel the knife or even when it came out? Why was he so quick to shoot his fellow students? Why did Rin's whole group question him? It was a matter for another time. He turned on his MP3 player and went to sleep at 4:42 P.M. listening to music.

* * *

Tas could feel the gears ripping at his flesh, tearing it from his very bones. He left it tear the skin from his face, leaving most of his skull bare except for his left eye. His torso was missing a large chunk just below the right lung, showing his cracked ribs. As the gears stopped and the conveyor belt came to a halt, he slowly pushed himself up.

"This is great… more… MORE! GIVE ME A REASON!

The seven men started to shoot him with everything they had. Pistols, Uzis, Shotguns, Assault rifles, and even a flamethrower tore through him. The lack of ventilation and extreme use of rapid-fire weapons created a thick haze. No one saw as the corpse rose to its mangled feet, bones jutting out of every limb.

"My turn."

Tas began to laugh as his right arm shifted. The bones retracted, the wounds closed, the blood dried, and over a hundred black tentacles covered his arm and started to take the shape of a crescent moon. The tentacles at the edge of the shape ripped in half and folded back on themselves, revealing a jagged edge that lined the shape. As the rest of the tentacles hardened in place, a pulsing red glow flowed through them from the tip of his deformed shoulder to the jagged end of the crescent blade. With blood lust in his eye, he flung himself at the enemy.

They didn't last all of a minute. As Tas absorbed their organic tissue into his being, regenerating all he had lost, he turned towards the terrorist leader.

"Game over."

The old man smiled at the monster, "No, now it's a new game." He held up a remote detonator and hit the button just as Tas drove his blade through the man's skull. He was too late. A distant explosion sounded.

* * *

Jay was flung from his sleep by the sound of a very close explosion. Whatever caution he had that day seemed to vanish when Tas showed up at his school earlier. He threw on a jacket and grabbed _Little Devil_. On the way out the door, he unconsciously grabbed the badge he was given by Tas.

He didn't have to go far, as the explosion came from down the road. He ripped through a group of people screaming near the end of the road. One house was nothing but debris and two others were on fire. He talked to the firemen, who arrived not long before him, "Anyone inside?"

"One in each house. Everyone, focus on the western house!"

The hoses unleashed water at an impressive rate, but the other house remained unaided. Jay charged in, unable to bear the idea someone was more important than another person. He jumped the gate and ran into the doorway.

_Right, dumbass. First, check the second floor. Check the first floor on the way out._

Jay sprinted for the stairs on the opposite end of the hall from the door, accidentally knocking over a phone next to the stairs. He broke into one of the doors. There was nothing but a half destroyed model ship on fire. He broke into another one and found the one person left inside. It was a girl from Rin's group.

What was her name again? Ah, Primula. She was asleep, even through he fire alarm, but she was breathing. He slid his arms under her and picked her up. A loud breaking sound and splintering of wood caught his attention. He turned around just as a support fell from the room and slammed into his face, knocking him flat on his back.

_Ow. Wait, why didn't I feel that?_

Jay had no time to think; he picked up Primula again and headed back down the hall. The stairs had collapsed, but he could still squeeze through the gap in the wall if he just didn't have the railing in the way. Wait, duh.

He kicked the railing off and slid through. His feet were dangling when the boards he was sliding on snapped. He was flung forward into a burning wall and slid down.

_Owww, I actually felt that one a little._

With his vision swaying slightly, he stumbled out of the house and leaned on the front gate. With a quick groan, the gate gave away and he fell into the road. The firefighters and a paramedic helped him up. The paramedic took Primula from him. The firefighters at the house just next door caught his attention, "The fire is dying down, but the inside is falling apart."

"Someone get in there!"

"Half the second floor is in our way!"

Jay could see a window into a room that had yet to fall, but a dull pain was starting to rise up, well, everywhere. He looked around, "Anyone got a coin?"

"What the hell do you need a coin for?"

"Coin, now." A paramedic tossed him a coin.

He sighed and made a promise with himself, "Heads, I go in. Tails, I watch and laugh."

He flipped it, watched it spin, and caught it. He looked at it, "Damn it." He tossed the coin back and charged for the window.

"Anyone alive in here? It's okay if there isn't."

"Yes! I'm trapped under a beam."

Jay walked into the hall and followed the shouting. A demon with long grayish hair and dark clothes was trapped under a flaming beam with a large number of cuts on what little skin he showed. Some ornaments Jay couldn't identify were jamming the beam, keeping it from being lifted. The heat had caused the metal ornament to become more flexible.

With a stroke of either stupidity or genius, Jay drew his gun and fired seven times. The metal groaned and bent inward with each shot until it snapped in half and fell to the floor. With Jay grabbed the beam with his bare hands, causing that dull pain to become far more noticeable. The demon helped and finally got the beam off him.

Jay was breathing heavily, "Anyone else in here?"

"No, no one."

"Then run like hell."

They emerged just as a familiar face got out of a car. The demon collapsed as paramedics swarmed him. A news crew, which must have arrived while he was inside, made a move towards him, but a familiar tall figure with a black duster intercepted and drove them away, "Tas, you have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"Jay, you just saved my ass. I tried to call, but you weren't answering. I never thought you would take the initiative."

"Why can't I feel anything?"

"Come again?"

"Why can't I feel pain?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you? The injection we took finally did what it was meant to. It boosted your immune system and pain tolerance to unbelievable amounts. It only works if you have a high heart rate, so calmly stabbing yourself will hurt."

"Remind me to never let you inject me with anything again."

"Noted. By the way, do you know why I'm here?"

He helped Jay to his feet. Jay, although wobbly, managed to stay upright.

Jay brushed ash off his black jacket, "I'm guessing a massive explosion against the night sky drew everyone and their mother here?"

"It's good you don't know. If you did, I'd arrest and kill you within ten minutes. Some terrorist group that hates anything that isn't human planted explosives here in an attempt to kill the kings of Gods and Demons."

"How did you figure that out?"

"I interrogated one of the students we shot earlier today. He was part of the Pro-Human group and planted them here when they kidnapped Tsuchimi, probably to hide their activity."

The demon Jay had saved walked up to Tas, "Tasekai Rose? Is that really you? My word, you've grown so much. What's it been? Twenty years?"

Tas hugged the demon, " Forbesii, you old son of a bitch. It's actually been eighteen years, but it's still far too long."

The demon turned to Jay, "And who might my savior be?"

Jay didn't want the King of Demons to know his name, he was below such an honor. The feeling Jay had was similar to what he thought would happen if he ever met the president, which he never did.

Tas smiled and threw an arm around Jay's neck, "This is Jay Follen, he just moved here from the U.S."

Forbesii extended his hand, "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Follen. Please, tell me if you need anything at all."

Jay hesitated, but Tas forced his arm forward, "It's wonderful to meet you too, but I wish it were under better circumstances."

The Demon King looked at his burning house, "As do I, but the important thing is that no one was killed. That reminds me, let me see your hands."

Jay held them up. He looked at them intently, "It seems you are fireproof to a degree."

Just as he said, there weren't any severe burns on him anywhere. Jay looked to Tas, but he just shrugged with a smile. Tas planted a hand on the Demon King's shoulder, "Seems like you could use a place to live for a while. Jay has a few spare rooms, you could always go there."

Jay glared at Tas, but the Demon King looked to Jay, "Would that be okay? I can pay rent or even cook meals. Anything you want."

Jay shook his head, "I won't have the King of Demons paying rent. If you have absolutely nowhere else to go, I can spare a room or two."

"You really are a good man. Tasekai, could you find my daughter and tell her what happened?"

"Sure. Hey kid, come here!"

Jay and Forbesii looked behind Tas, where Rin's group was. That damn news crew was blocking their way, "Damn it. Jay, clear the way."

Jay sighed and fired his gun into the air twice, "Let them through!" The crew parted, letting them pass. Rin and Kaede ran to the house in the middle, "Primula? Are you in there?!"

A medic walked up to them, "Excuse me, are you looking for the girl over there?"

Primula was awake and being tended to, but there wasn't much that needed attention. The medic pointed towards Jay, "He barged in and got her out. Good thing too, the fire department was busy saving some high and mighty political figure."

Jay looked at Nerine, "You mean she's your kid?"

Forbesii looked at him, "Yes, is that a problem?"

Jay shook his head, "Not at all, I just don't see the resemblance."

"Yes, she takes after her mother."

Jay started to feel the fatigue of charging into two burning building, "Do what you need to. I'm going home."

* * *

Jay opened the door, "Sia? Why are you here? Who's the wrestler?"

Sia and some huge guy were standing outside. Sia looked more depressed than ever, "Our house was destroyed too. Tasekai said you had room. I really hate to bother you, but may we stay here?"

Jay was about to speak when he saw others behind her, "And who are they? Get up here where I can see you,"

Kaede and Primula walked into the light from the doorway. Jay sighed, "Let me guess, yours too?"

She nodded.

"Well, If Tas said I had room, then I do. I can kill him later, but right now please come in."

He was about to close the door when Forbesii and Nerine showed up, "Ah, right on time."

Jay led them upstairs "You're all a bit shaken so I'll make this quick. The bathroom is right here, this is my room, and the rest are guestrooms, one family to a room. Take a shower if you want, but I'll see the rest of you in the morning. Oh, and Tas called. He said you don't have to go to school tomorrow if you don't feel like it."

The two fathers walked up to him, "We really can't thank you enough."

Jay shrugged, "The way I see it, there's no reason to. Sleep well."

Jay walked to his room and closed the door. He threw his jacket over the chair at the desk, reloaded _Little Devil_, and jumped into bed. His phone went off. It was Tas.

_Good night. Thank you for your help._

* * *

"Yes, sleep well boy. I am truly amazed you've kept your calm until now, but I think it's time I had some company in this lonely world." He dialed in the number and it was instantly answered, "Yeah?

"It's time. Go to Penn station and let it loose."

"You're sure this will take down Gentek?"

"Trust me, Mercer, It will do more than just take them down."

He hung up and called his contact, "Tas?"

"Yes. What is their condition?"

"They're responding well to experimentation."

"I see."

He hung up and threw the phone into the biological mass surrounding his bed. Tas got to his feet and walked to the window, where his monstrous reflection glared back at him as it pulsed a faint red. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Jay."


End file.
